My dear wife, amazing mother of my two awe-inspiring children and the person whom I frustrate on a daily basis, married me ten years ago today.
I know I am lucky. I know I am unworthy. But I also know she’s still the one I want to grow old with.
My life is a gift, not a guarantee.
She is the gift. She has given me the gifts.
She has allowed me to believe in me.
I am grateful and rather speechless.
Cue the music.
As this blog is “where the worlds of voice over, marketing and advertising collide” I try and make sure individual posts cover one or more of those areas each week. This post covers all three.
If you earn your living as a voice talent, a marketer (for your own company or on behalf of someone else) or in advertising (either for yourself or someone else) there is a trend developing that you need to think about. Why?
Because it affects how much money you’re going to make in the future. Think mortgage payments, new cars and education.
With me now?
Double click on the chart below and then click back for some thoughts.
That chart is part of a much more in-depth study produced in August, 2008 by the Pew Research Center for People and The Press. Maybe its stuff you thought was happening and maybe it even reflects your personal changes. But this is now quantifiable. And that means a lot to how we all make our livings. Pay attention:
You have just read a 15 year trend in media usage, specifically how people get their news.
* 24% fewer people in that time period get their news from newspapers
* 12% fewer people get their news from the radio
* 31% fewer people watch the nightly network news
* On line and cable news consumption is through the roof
This is about more than just news, I think. This is a game changer for people who work in media (including voice over), marketing and advertising. Most are dealing with this and thousands of pages of similar data already but I’m guessing you may not be, so let us ruminate for a moment, shall we?
Let’s just for the sake of this post take out concerns of the bias of cable news outlets as it affects their presentation of the news to the growing majority of American cable news consumers and how that impacts how people think, act and vote about issues of the day. Great topic and just considering it gets your head to throbbing but back away from it just for this discussion.
Let’s do say you’re a voice talent and you’ve been charging $200 for a :30 second commercial on local broadcast television and $150 or even $100 for cable TV spots because there are fewer viewers. Survey says that number is changing a bit (though broadcast ratings are still higher). Should you consider changing your cable fees? Is that change justified? Survey says maybe.
Let’s say you’re in advertising and you’ve been specializing in print ads which mostly go in newspapers or you’ve been doing lots of radio spots on news talk stations. Shouldn’t you at least reconsider either your primary business services or your media recommendation to clients? Survey says it’s probably worth some brainstorming.
Let’s say you’re in marketing for a grocery store and you do weekly inserts with specials and temporary price reductions and the like. Has coupon redemption gone up or down on those inserts? Any reasons you know of for a change? Survey says maybe.
Let’s say you are a consumer that can be influenced by commercials you see on cable TV, print ads or weekly grocery store inserts (we’d all like to say “not me” but we’d be lying). Could your buying habits be impacted by this change in media usage? After all, you’re the one changing the usage. What if you’re not finding out about all these new special offers because the media vendors haven’t changed their marketing plans for their clients? Clients whose products you normally buy or would consider buying.
The point is not that any of these industries need to play catch up because that’s what we’re all doing everyday anyway. A trend arises and we react. Tuesday go left. Wednesday go right. Thursday is too far away to consider.
The point is to be aware that there are very specific changes in media usage. This information is but one small part.
But do you comprehend the change? Do you even feel it, maybe? Is the change impacting the way you do business? Should it change the way you do business?
Is it impacting the way you buy things? Does it alter your opinion of brands? Could it alter the opinions of consumers of your brand?
That box below here is where the discussion begins…be a part of it, now. Thanks.
Everybody’s favorite voice coach Pat Fraley is in town this weekend courtesy of Toni Silveri’s All Coast Talent (of which I am proud and founding represented voice talent). Pat was in a couple of years ago to do a character voice seminar which I attended; he did an updated version today which I didn’t attend, though I will be in attendance on Sunday for his audio book class.
But three who did attend the character voice workshop today are some of my favorite folks from north of the border. I stopped by the seminar on their lunch break today to visit with them.
Elaine Singer and I first met at the first Podcamp Toronto a few years ago and I was very pleased to hear she caught wind of my announcement of the seminar from this blog and reserved her space. While not exclusive to her voice over talents, Elaine explained to me how she was looking to increase her Herbrew-based voice work. She enjoys it quite a bit and it occurs to me know I’ll have to have her send me her demo for the International Voice Talents page.
David and Stephanie Ciccarelli drove in from south of Toronto, London, Ontario to be exact, taking in Pat’s class and sharing some of their insight on the voice over world gained from their business, Voices.com. David and I spent a good bit of time reviewing some of the proposed changes they’ve alluded to on line at Voices.com, which I assume will result in the usual impassioned debate. From what he told me, I think they make sense but I’ll let David and Stephanie unveil it to the masses. Wonderful folks, the Ciccarellis.
I’ll post later how things went at the Fraley audio book class.
UPDATE: Here’s my Fraley review
Thanks for reading.
If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.
If you have previously subscribed, as of August 1, 2008 we’ve implemented a new RSS feed. Please update your subscription now in your reader because as of September 1, 2008, the old subscription feed will go away and we want you to stay!
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When it comes right down to it, where would you rather be in August than in Phoenix?
OK, don’t answer that.
Anyway, here I is and t’aint no way I was going to let this trip go by with a visit with one of my most favorite professional voice over talents, Bruce Miles.
Tonight we had dinner my hotel, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort.
I know if you’ve read any of these “audio’connell in (city name)” I always say very nice things about the people I’m with. Well it’s because the people I meet with are nice which, in addition to us sharing professional similarities, is why we want to get together.
Just ask the people at VOICE 2008 this weekend.
In comparison to that large event, our dinner made up in quality what we lacked in quantity. Bruce and I share an affinity for history….mine America Presidents, his also American Presidents and every other damn historical thing. Puts me to shame.
And that awesome voice of his! I think if I got the opportunity to add any voice to my repertoire, Bruce’s voice would definitely be in the top 5.
If you get the chance to visit with Bruce in Phoenix, I highly recommend it, for the voice over stories and for the history lessons.
P.S. I bought a news camera to have in my briefcase now and this is the device’s first outing. Now next time I have drinks with Caryn Clark, unlike last time, I’ll be able to post a pic.
Thanks for reading.
If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.
If you have previously subscribed, as of August 1, 2008 we’ve implemented a new RSS feed. Please update your subscription now in your reader because as of September 1, 2008, the old subscription feed will go away and we want you to stay!
If you really like this post (of course we hope you do), please feel free to bookmark and or promote it by clicking the buttons below on your preferred services.
Every business has a brand and as Mitch Joel will tell you, every individual has a personal brand.
In the case of voice over, most folks are one person shops so the individual voice talent is often the brand. And by virtue of their sole proprietorship, their personal brand is often front and center.
BRAND = PROFITS
How prospective clients and even the general business community or passersby view your brand impacts your bottom line. You’ve got to understand this as fact. If you don’t, the rest of this post will be meaningless.
We are only aware of about 1/3 of the opinions people have of our brands (my very rough estimate, no science here) meaning that 66% of opinions on our brand – that thing on which we base our livelihoods – never makes it back to us.
We don’t know what potential clients are saying about our brand – personal or otherwise (yikes!) – which is why we must be ardent stewards of our own brands.
So when I see web examples of really poor branding (in my opinion) my head starts to throb. Not in anger or anything like that -more like pity because I know that I am hardly the only person who’s noticed these mis-steps. And they are too often so easy to fix/avoid.
LET’S SEE THE BODIES
Now of course, you want to see (and thereby have me “out”) the sites and their owners I will reference here because you’re also the person who slows down to gawk at accidents, I know. Well no dice.
It’s hurtful to single out someone specifically and that’s not my goal nor is it the point of this post.
“But,” you ask, “isn’t it hurtful to speak badly about a person’s branding even vaguely?”
Yes which is why I won’t be speaking badly about anyone. I will be pointing out mis-steps in branding and design which you can be sure to avoid. I will do this without specifically “brand-spanking” the sites that incited this post (I call copyright on brand spanking!).
“Yet by not being specific, aren’t you speaking behind their back, you backstabbing bastard?!”
Firstly, watch your language, potty mouth 😉 . Second, the point here is to get everyone to look at their own web sites and branding more critically. For some readers, the concept of branding is totally new. If you see some of yourself in any of my forthcoming comments, get offended if you wish but that would just be a waste of time. Rather see if you might want to at least think of revising your branding or presentation. Branding is an ever evolving process anyway…on-going analysis is always good.
CLUTTER IS NOT CONTENT
The first site is from a fairly well know media professional and educator. The site looks like it was designed in 1997 and really hasn’t changed much. There’s a blog that isn’t really a blog, text in sooooo many different colors that the Rainbow Coalition may sue for copyright infringement and its almost nothing but miles and miles of copy in 8 point font. It is jumbled and disorganized (to the eye) and if there is great content somewhere in there, you’ll burn your retinas trying to find it.
Note I said this media professional is an educator – credibility must be one of the hallmarks of his/her brand. Smart and somewhat sophisticated must be some of the other immediate impressions. They seem to be using a do-it-yourself web program and have put no thought into web design. Bad idea.
Based on this site, I could never train with this person even if they were the Albert Einstein of voice over. It would never be apparent how talented they might be. And isn’t that the saddest part of all…one who might be enormously talented gets ignored because (personal opinion only) their brand, their persona sucks?
Ours is not a bricks and mortar business, as it used to be. Often the web is the building. The wrapping paper matters and assuming that using the Sunday comics will be good enough for a web design (as is the impression I get with this person’s really bad design choices) well, that is a really bad plan for branding.
Simple, clean, uncluttered design is best. Among the most simple and effective voice web site designs out there are Bruce Miles and Dan Nachtrab. Certainly, their great voices are what sell you but their personal branding is professional – in two very different ways. Both enjoy good SEO success too.
BRANDING AND POSITIONING
Now let’s chat for a minute about how you position yourself in the voice over market place and how that fits into branding. This is going to be a sensitive area for a lot of industry people because the site I saw tonight positioned itself on being one the cheapest voice over service out there. They said they were “good” but their primary point of difference was low price – clear as a bell.
Point of fact, not opinion: every business has a low cost provider and there’s money to be made in them thar hills. Full disclosure (more on the opinion side of the fence here): I have a tremendous bias against such providers in any business because I think it lessens the value of an industry. And (completing the disclosure) I have, on occasion, shopped at Wal-Mart.
I think that low ball providers in voiceover are so bad because technology has given birth to thousands of talentless hacks who think they are voice talents and are willing (it seems, anyway) to pay their clients to let them do their voice work. “Cheap” is becoming synonymous (if not a standard expectation) with the voice over industry and that devalues everyone’s product. (Let the battle begin on that little paragraph).
The individual whose site I referenced this post was not talentless. The voice I heard was a fine radio voice doing spots – nothing bad there. The design was not awful either. It wasn’t inspiring but it did seem functional and that won’t hurt his branding. The mis-spellings on the copy might (says this author, who is a terrible proofreader) .
POINT OF DIFFERENCE
Back to the brand’s major point of difference: cheap. While maybe profitable volumetrically (and God bless ’em for putting food on the table – that part I get and respect) I heard a level of client on the demos and saw a level of client in the testimonials that I kind of expected. Not exactly Chico’s Bail Bonds (that of “Bad News Bears” fame) but in the neighborhood. When you say you’re the cheapest, there will always be a certain client you attract – and many more you won’t.
Check the synonyms for the word “cheap”. I don’t want to be high priced Harry but I know the value of my talent and of my brand. Cheap and its associated meanings are not something I think are worth promoting. There are tons of branding options – stay away from cheap.
Thanks for reading.
If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.
If you have previously subscribed, as of August 1, 2008 we’ve implemented a new RSS feed. Please update your subscription now in your reader because as of September 1, 2008, the old subscription feed will go away and we want you to stay!
If you really like this post (of course we hope you do), please feel free to bookmark and or promote it by clicking the buttons below on your preferred services.
I walked away from a talent agency relationship today.
Now it could be easy to cast this agency as bad guys or disreputable. I don’t think they are and my due diligence (that I do with every possible agency relationship I negotiate) currently indicates I am right. Nor should it be seen as proudly proclaiming that I dumped some group. None of that is the point here (nor is it to name names), rather I simply hope others can learn from my experience(s).
This was an agency that has sent me leads, I’d met with the owner personally and we’d work out a contract — that was left unsigned because they were too busy to take 5 minutes to review minor changes (flag on the play!). Friends who are with them as talents speak well of them. They repeatedly and categorically stated they wanted me to sign as a voice talent with their agency. Now about that flag…. 😉
What I witnessed first hand and experienced with their company was total organizational chaos (not organized chaos, there’s a difference). It was like their agency was working at DefCon 2 and pushing it up to 1 was an imminent outcome. And this group wasn’t in New York, LA or Chicago — where you might expect such behavior (yet I’ve not seen that with the agencies there I deal with.)
My professional experience (i.e. 25+ years within the voice over world’s school of hard knocks) has been if you have to chase agencies down too much, if there seems to be no follow up but loads of platitudes when you do connect, a voice agent’s operation is faltering in some way.
Maybe they’re making money but details are being left out and they are frustrating the client (unbeknownst to the talent). Maybe money is tight and they are short staffed. Maybe it’s one of a myriad of other issues (the agency business is a tough one, I will grant you). But in this case it was at least unnecessary and worse unprofessional chaos.
That’s not something I want my professional brand associated with in front of clients nor do I care to spend my valuable time dealing with it or fretting over it.
Maybe it’s my attitude that I’ve always held about representation. At the very least, an agency relationship should be a partnership where each side uses their talents to make money for the other. In many ways, agencies work for the talent because it is the talent that earns the agent their money (agents need something to sell). I certainly prefer the partnership concept but what I will never support is an agency who thinks any talent is beholden to them and ‘oh aren’t we lucky just to have representation’. To me that’s not confidence, that’s arrogance – I’ve seen it and I won’t hire it.
The good news is there are a lot of great, hard working, qualified and organized talent agents out there. I am proud to be represented by many of them with a couple of new ones about to be announced. So it’s not so much an industry issue; each new agency negotiation needs to be analyzed on its own merits. And to be fair, there have been an agent or two who have not wanted to represent me…rejection in the VO world is not limited to auditions (some folks are very geocentric in their representation policies and I respect that).
Look, I know running a small business is stressful and at times chaotic. But not 24/7. If it is, then there’s a management problem.
The gut check said walk away.
What do you think, good move or bad?
